Thursday, September 10, 2015

The real college "rape culture": Young women are believing the sexual grievance industry lies, putting innocent men at risk

Don't read this on an empty stomach. It is disturbing on a host of levels--I'd go so far as to say it's a barometer of a culture in free-fall. Regular readers know that last year, RAINN, the nation's leading anti-rape organization, debunked the "rape culture" meme. Yet, the sexual grievance industry clings to the "rape culture" canard the way a drowning sailor clings to a life preserver.

The "rape culture" lie teaches our children that it is not only acceptable but proper to unjustly stereotype and reduce young men to vile caricature. Young women are being taught that innocent young men are rapists or rapists-in-waiting, and this inculcation is putting innocent men in jeopardy of expulsion and even lengthy prison time. If you think that's too extreme a characterization, read on and decide for yourself. The recent evidence is overwhelming.

*A Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation survey shows that almost half of all college women-- full 44 percent--wrongly think that when a woman gives a guy a "nod in agreement," that isn't enough for consent. (Question 35(c)) That same survey shows that an overwhelming majority of college women automatically think that the man is more to blame whenever they hear an accusation of sexual assault. (Question 21) In addition, an overwhelming majority of women think it's better that innocent young men be punished for offenses they didn't commit than to allow a guilty man to go free. (Question 32)

*In a survey of all Michigan State first-year and transfer students, 74.9 percent said it was “false” that “someone can still give consent for sex if they are using alcohol or drugs.” (They don't understand the difference between intoxication and incapacitation.)

*Elisabeth Dee, Stanford class of 2016, one of the organizers of the “Carry that Weight” demonstration where students were urged to carry a pillow or mattress around for a day to symbolize the burden placed upon survivors of sexual assault, called on the school to reduce the burden of proof required to find someone guilty of sexual assault, which is already the lowest legally permissible, "preponderance of the evidence." Dee said that Stanford, should not be focusing on "defending the perpetrator, because essentially burden of proof is a defense of the perpetrator.”

*Julia Horowitz, a journalist at University of Virginia’s school newspaper, wrote that "to let fact checking define the [sexual assault] narrative would be a huge mistake.”Where are the students getting these absurd notions? They are getting them from adults who are part of, or allied with, the sexual grievance industry.

*The entire multi-million dollar war on campus rape has been geared toward rooting out the "campus rapist" bogeyman--that infamous serial sociopath who preys on unsuspecting college women by plying them with alcohol. It turns out he's the Loch Ness Monster because the study that invented him doesn't support the conclusion that he exists, according to articles by Linda M. LeFauve and Robby Soave (here and here).

*Ms. Magazine quoted Caroline Heldman, a professor at Occidental College, on suits filed by men for alleged violations of their due process rights in connection with sexual assault claims: "These lawsuits are an incredible display of entitlement, the same entitlement that drove them to rape."

*In the world of pop culture, Justin Bieber came under fire from celebrity Lena Dunham for writing song lyrics where a guy asks a girl to clarify whether she consents to sex. Apparently, it's verboten to suggest women sometimes send mixed signals even almost half of all college women think a nod in agreement is not consent.

*Activists protested pending legislation that would support sexual assault victims while insuring minimal due process for the presumptively innocent accused. One said, "We are not at a point to analyze 'due process'" yet.

*When Jezebel posted an article that referenced the UVA frat members suing Rolling Stone for lying about them and causing them emotional distress, a Jezebel reader wrote: "Who gives a f' if these three frat boys 'suffered emotional distress.'"

*Duke University Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek was asked what would happen if two students got drunk to the point of incapacity, and then had sex. "Assuming it is a male and female, it is the responsibility in the case of the male to gain consent before proceeding with sex," said Wasiolek.

*Jessica Valenti mocked the efforts of three mothers who started Families Advocating for Campus Equality (FACE) that seeks to raise awareness about the injustices faced by presumptively innocent college students accused of sexual misconduct. Each of the three founders of FACE has been touched directly by campus rape injustice: their sons were ensnared by it. Valenti wrote: "Alternative name for this group: Not My Nigel." Of course, "Not My Nigel" is radical feminist shorthand to suggest that women who defend their male loved ones accused of rape or similar acts are defending rapists.

*Ezra Klein evinced satisfaction that innocent young men may be expelled for rapes they didn't commit: "Critics worry that colleges will fill with cases in which campus boards convict young men (and, occasionally, young women) of sexual assault for genuinely ambiguous situations. Sadly, that’s necessary for the law’s success. It’s those cases — particularly the ones that feel genuinely unclear and maybe even unfair, the ones that become lore in frats and cautionary tales that fathers e-mail to their sons — that will convince men that they better Be Pretty D–n Sure."

*Laura Dunn, executive director of SurvJustice, on why some colleges have pushed back against lowering the standard of proof for sexual assault cases to make it easier to hold young men accused of sexual assault: "To put it bluntly, I think it's arrogance and ingrained male privilege . . . ."

*Zerlina Maxwell wrote this: “Ultimately, the costs of wrongly disbelieving a survivor far outweigh the costs of calling someone a rapist.”

*The co-author of California's "affirmative consent" law in the state assembly, Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, was asked how an innocent person is supposed to prove consent. She said: “Your guess is as good as mine."

These are not isolated instances of nitwit-mongering. The nitwits are now in charge of sexual assault hearings in our colleges, and courts are starting to call them on their idiocy. See, e,g, here, here and here. It promises to get a lot worse before it gets better--angry gender zealots are teaching a generation of young women that a nod in agreement can be recharacterized as "rape" if the woman later regrets it, that they shouldn't worry if innocent men are wrongly accused, and that rape oozes from every crevice of our college campuses.